Cleaning out the fridge

Guilt...that's what I feel, pure and simple.

I am responsible for over purchasing, accused of not utilizing and above all, I am that greedy American who over consumes resources, wasting plenty.

How many folks, deep down feel this guilt?!?! Do you grocery shop daily? Weekly? Every two weeks, or monthly?? Regardless, I bet 99% of us are all guilty of the same crime...throwing away food.

For a while I used to grocery shop weekly. I did this, because that is how my parents did it. I would typically go on the weekend, fill up a grocery cart and cringe at check out as to how much this trip cost us. Then for the week, I would have to work with what I had purchased and prepare dinner under constraints.
*
At this point in our lives, my Hubs and I encounter unexpected weekly happenings (aka flexibility in our routine).
*
It could be a last minute dinner invitation with family/friends, a really long day at work, or the fact that you may just not feel like cooking. No matter the case, by the end of the week you realize that the whole chicken you were going to roast has been sitting there for 5 days now, the beef has turned brown, the veggies are wilting, the cheese you needed to use up by this week is now molded...get the picture?
*
So what do you do?? You throw it away. You have to.
*
You can't make your family sick by serving this stuff and to honest it's just not salvageable. Into the trash, garbage disposal, compost, whatever...regardless of your methods, you are wasting and wasting a lot!
*
In the last year or so, I've realized that weekly shopping just does not work for me/us. This may change as we grow our family to include children, but for now it's just me, Hubs and the dog. With that said - I never know when I'll actually get out of work, we never know when we'll be invited to dinner elsewhere, we never know when the last minute chance for hockey or golf will come up...we just can't be certain where or what will be going on at dinner time.
*
So presently, I am a daily shopper. I head to the grocery store each night after work and pick up just what we need right then. It seems to be the right approach for us and I enjoy making the stop 90% of the time, as it is the beginning of my evening therapy. Sure on weekends I'll make a real trip out of it, armed with my list of ingredients needed for my daylong therapy sessions...but that is different.
*
Overall we have cut down on what we waste. We still face the challenge of being just two people to feed, so do have that tub of ricotta or mozz leftover from pizza night that might be thrown out later, a few leftover scallions that weren't needed from the bunch, etc.
*

So tonight we experiment, pick up only minimal items at the grocery store and clean out the fridge!

*

Sitting in our refrigerator and cabinets were:

Ricotta, Mozzarella, Scallions, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder.
*
So I mixed up them all together to serve as our filling.

*

A filling for what you ask?!?!
*
Stuffed chicken breast.

*
I picked up a 3 pack at the grocery store on the way home.
*
Usually I halve the breasts, pound them out and roll them up filled with whatever. Tonight I tried something different. I instead made a pocket. I simply sliced into the breasts, stuffed them and closed with a skewer.
*
Since I did over stuff, I decided they could use a protective coating to contain the goods...
*
so I pulled out some seasoned breadcrumbs from in the cupboard and did a basic egg/breadcrumb coating.
*

They were browned on the stove top in a non-stick pan with just a bit of olive oil and then sent to the oven for about 20 minutes.

*

The result was an overflowing example of cheesy goodness!

*

Over dinner the Hubs and I both agreed the chicken tasted pretty good, but was still missing something...perhaps next time I'll pour on some tomato sauce to make it more complete.

*

This one rated a 7 on the Hubs' Food Scale.

*

Purchased at Store: Chicken Breast

Perishable items saved: Ricotta, Mozz, Scallion, Green Beans

From the cupboard: Seasonings, Breadcrumbs, Olive Oil, Skewers